Arrangement for metered flow of liquids

ABSTRACT

A housing has a chamber provided with an upper inlet connected with a liquid supply, and with an outlet connectable with a user. A pressure indicator is located in the chamber, and a set of washers is provided which can alternately be inserted into the chamber in the region of the outlet to extend across the entire cross-sectional area of the chamber, with each washer having a different flowthrough opening, so that depending upon the size of the opening the flow through the chamber per unit of time can be predetermined.

United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,835,885

Kreyenberg Sept. 17, 1974 [54] ARRANGEMENT FOR METERED FLOW OF 1,649,602 I 1/1927 Ledoux ct al. 73/205 R LIQUIDS 1,697,344 1 1929 Campbell 73/211 2,105,017 l/l938 Suffron 73/2ll X Inventorl Artur Kreyenberg, 2,306,940 12/1942 Fischer 73/211 Langenharmerweg, Germany 2,487,083 11/1949 Warshaw .1 73/21 I 3,0l7,885 l/l962 Robicsck 73/2ll X [73] Assgnee- Johannes Bockemuehl, 3.472.275 10/1969 Castro ct a] 73/205 R Gummersbach-Derschlag, Germany [22] Filed Oct. 17, 1972 Primary Examiner-Robert G. Nilson pp NO: 298,275 Attorney, Agent, or F1rmM1chael S. Striker [57] ABSTRACT Foreign Applicamm y Data A housing has a chamber provided with an upper inlet Oct. 18,1971 Germany 2151786 connected with a liquid supply, and with an outlet connectable with a user. A pressure indicator is lo- [52] US. Cl. 137/551, 73/21 1 cated in the chamber, and a set of washers is provided [51] Int. Cl. G0lp 5/14 which can alternately be inserted into the chamber in [58] Field of Search 73/205, 211, 228; 137/551, the region of the outlet to extend across the entire 137/559 cross-sectional area of the chamber, with each washer having a different flowthrough opening, so that de- [56] References Cited pending upon the size of the opening the flow through UNITED STATES PATENTS the chamber per unit of time can be predetermined. 1,365,488 1/1921 Hanau 73/211 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures ARRANGEMENT FOR METERED FLOW OF LIQUIDS BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generallyto the metering of liquid flow, and more particularly to an arrangement for effecting a metered flow of liquids.

Arrangements of this type are needed in a wide variety of applications, and by way of example it is pointed out that the watering of developed and prepared films of photographic material is carried out with the aid of such devices. A particular problem exists in such watering because the watering must be as effective as possible in order to remove residual chemical deposits from the film, it being well known that the resistance exhibited by the photographic layers of the film to eventual breaking down is largely dependent upon the effectiveness of watering, that is the degree of effectiveness with which the residual chemicals are removed.

The prior art knows an arrangement in which the films, which are rolled onto a spool or reel and are accommodated in a watering capsule, are watered by inserting them into a body of water which is changed at more or less fixed intervals. However, it is evident that this was not entirely satisfactory because clearly there is not sufficient water movement to wash out residual chemical deposits. Moreover, this approach requires rather long periods of time for completing the watering operation.

Another approach has been to develop and fix the film in a capsule, and thereupon to leave it in the cap- I sule and to introduce water into the latter through the central inlet opening provided in the capsule. This is a very common approach in the art, known as watering with flowing water, but has the disadvantage that a relatively large amount of water is required to effect the necessary degree of removal of residual chemicals. In addition, this also requires a relatively long period of time for completion because it is rarely ever known what the pressure of water in the water supply is, so that it is not possible to calculate what the amount of water flowing through the capsule per unit of time amounts to; the result. is that to be on the safe side it is customary to let a much larger amount of water pass through the capsule for a much larger period of time than would actually be required, leading to a waste of water and time.

As a matter of fact, it is customary in the latter approach to let the water pass through the capsule for at least 20 minutes in order to assure that watering of the film has taken place.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a general object of the present invention to overcome the difficulties of the prior art.

More particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide an arrangement for metered flow of liquids which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.

Still more particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide such an arrangement which is particularly, but not exclusively, suitable for the watering of photographic film materials and the like.

In keeping with these objects, and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides in an arrangement for metered flow of liquids, which comprises a housing provided with a chamber having an-inlet connectable with a supply and an outlet connectable with a user. A pressure indicator is located in or communicates with the chamber, and means isprovided for setting a desired rate of liquid flow through the chamber per unit of time.

The present invention is based on the realization that with ordinary waterpressure as it prevails in water supply conduits available in homes, laboratories, and the like, it is readily possible to obtain the necessary flow of water per unit of time which is required to completely water photographic film material within a period of about 5 minutes. With the present invention this can be achieved independently of the water pressure in the conduit, or fluctuations thereof. Moreover, the period of time can be preselected.

It is advantageous if the means is in form of a set of washers which can be inserted into the lower end of the chamber and extend across the entire cross-sectional area thereof, blocking the same, with each washer having one or more flowthrough apertures whose combined cross-sectional area will be different in each washer. Thus, the desired rate of liquid flow can be changed simply by changing the washer, selecting one washer of a set whose flowthrough aperture or apertures has a cross-sectional area capable of affording the desired rate of flow.

According to a further concept of the invention the pressure indicator is advantageously in form of an airfilled upright tube having an upper closed end and a lower end which communicates with the chamber. The tube may be coaxial with the wall bounding the cham ber and define therewith an annular clearance the upper end of which is closed and the lower end of which communicates with the chamber.

However, it is also possible to construct the pressure indicator as a piston which is arranged in the chamber itself, having an axial bore and being biased by a spring located in the chamber.

It is also possible to have the inner surface bounding the chamber converge in upward direction towards the inlet of the chamber, with the convergence being conical and with the pressure indicator having a ball or spherical element which is located in the converging portion and is biased upwardly by a spring located in the chamber beneath the spherical element.

The arrangement according to the present invention makes it possible to water a supply of photographic film material in a much shorter time, for instance 5 minutes, than the 20 minute period heretofore required for the same purpose. Despite this reduction in time, the necessary degree of watering is obtained and the use of excess water is avoided.

Furthermore, the construction according to the present invention is exceedingly simple and the arrangement can therefore be produced highly economically, especially in view of the fact that no movable parts are necessary'which could lead to premature wear, and that the period of time for watering and the amount of water to be used can be preselected quite readily and can be read off a scale of the manometer with great ease.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an axial section illustrating a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1a is a plan view illustrating a set of two replaceable washers for use in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating a third embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating a fourth embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing firstly the embodiment of FIG. 1 it will be seen that reference numeral 1 designates a cylindrical chamber having an upper open end provided with an inlet with which a nipple 2 is connected, and which latter can be in turn connected via a hose 4 with a nonillustrated source of liquid supply, for instance a water faucet. The direction of flow is indicated by the arrow. The lower end of the housing 1 has an outlet provided with a nipple 3 which can be connected via a hose 5 with a non-illustrated user, for instance with a watering capsule or tank for film material.

In the illustrated embodiment the arrangement is provided with an upright tube 6 which acts as a pressure indicator 12, the tube being airfilled and having an upper closed end and a lower end which communicates with the interior of the chamber 1 as shown. The tube is of light-transmissive material, for instance transparent or translucent, so that the liquid therein can be seen, and is provided with a scale 7 on which an appropriate marking indicates the desired flowthrough level indicating (by reference to the level of liquid in the tube 6) the pressure in the chamber 1 or the desired flowthrough per unit of time. The rate of flow can be varied by the insertion of one of a set of washers 8, each of which has a flowthrough aperture 9, with the crosssectional areas of the apertures in the different washers 8 being of different magnitudes and with the washers being readily exchangeable.

The device illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 1a is employed by admitting water or other liquid through the hose 4, so that it can enter the chamber 1. Since the liquid is under pressure, an overpressure will develop in the chamber 1, whose magnitude depends upon the extent to which the faucet of the water supply connected with the hose 4 has been opened. The water entering into the chamber 1 will in part enter via the aperture 9 into the hose 5 and from there to a user from where it can then flow through an outlet opening into a discharge conduit or the like.

Given the particular cross-sectional area of the aperture 9, a predetermined amount of water passes through the chamber 1 per unit of time at a certain pressure existing in the chamber 1. If the amount of water which is to pass through the chamber 1 per unit of time, for instance which is required to obtain the desired watering of a film during a period of 5 minutes, is known, then it will be readily apparent that if a washer 8 having an aperture 9 of predetermined crosssectional area is interposed in the flow it is possible to provide a marker on the scale 7 of the tube 6 which indicates the level to which the water in the tube 6 must rise to indicate that the desired rate of flow per unit of time through the chamber 1 has been achieved. Thus, it is a simple matter to set the desired rate of flow through the chamber 1 by opening or closing the faucet to a greater or lesser degree until the level of water in the tube 6 coincides with the marking on the scale 1.

If it is desired to vary the rate of flow, then the washer 8 can be replaced with another washer 8 (see FIG. la) having a flowthrough aperture 9 whose cross-sectional area may be greater or lesser than that of the previous washer 8, depending upon whether it is intended to increase or decrease the rate of flow per unit of time. The lower end portion of the wall bounding the chamber 1 is configurated as a cap as shown in FIG. 1, so that it can be unscrewed to permit removal of the washer 8 and insertion of a different one.

The embodiment in FIG. 2 is analogous to that of FIG. 1 except that the pressure indicator is constructed differently. Like reference numerals designate like elements, except that a prime symbol has been used. In FIG. 2 the chamber is designated with reference numeral 1 and is coaxially surrounded by a tube 11 which defines with it an annular gap 10 whose upper open end is closed and whose lower end communicates with the interior of the chamber 1. Reference numeral 12' designates the pressure indicator per se and reference numeral 7' designates the scale provided on the tube 11.

In FIG. 3 I have illustrated an embodiment in which the pressure indicator 12" is a piston-type indicator having a piston 15 located in the chamber 1" itself and being provided with an axial bore 13, a spring 14 also being located in the chamber 1 and tending to bias the piston 15 upwardly towards the inlet of the chamber 1". The operation of manometers of this type is too well known to require a detailed description.

However, it is pointed out that when water enters into the upper end of the chamber 1", the piston 15 is displaced downwardly against the action of the spring 14 to an extent which depends upon the extent of the pressure of the water, that is to the extent determined by how far the faucet of the water supply has been opened. The rate of water flowing through the passage 13 and the chamber 1" per unit of time is proportionalto this pressure and can be read on the scale 7', it being understood of course that in this case the wall bounding the chamber 1" must itself be transparent or transluscent to permit observation. Increasing or decreasing of the extent to which the faucet is opened, permits the piston 15 to ascend or descend until it reaches the marking on the scale 7 which indicates the desired flowthrough rate per unit of time.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, finally, a further pistontype indicator is illustrated, except that the piston here is constituted by a ball or spherical element 18 which is pushed upwardly by an expansion spring 13 surrounding a guide rod 20 provided on the element 18. The element 18 is pushed into engagement with the inner wall surface 16 of the chamber 1" which converges conically in upper direction towards the inlet. When water is admitted through the inlet, then the spherical element 18 is pushed downwardly by the water pressure against the action of the spring 17, and is maintained in a position of equilibrium depending upon the flow speed and pressure of the incoming liquid. The position of the element 18 can be read off a scale (not shown) corresponding to the scale 7 in FIG. 3, and the level of the element 18 can be raised or lowered until it is located opposite the marking on the scale, by further opening or closing the faucet of the liquid supply, until the predetermined desired level or rate of liquid flow through the chamber per unit of time has been reached.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in an arrangement for metered flow of liquids, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. Arrangement for metered flow of washing liquids in the developing of photographic material, comprising a housing provided with a chamber having an inlet connectable with a supply and an outlet connectable with a user; setting means connected to said housing, and

located between said chamber and said outlet for determining the rate of liquid flow from said chamber into said outlet; and means for indicating the rate of liquid flow through said outlet and including a piston slidable in said chamber and having an axial bore, and a spring acting upon said piston.

2. Arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said housing comprises a wall which bounds said chamber and is at least in part transparent.

3. Arrangement as defined in claim 2, and further comprising scale markings provided on said wall for indicating the flow rate of liquid through said chamber as a function of the position of said piston therein.

4. Arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said piston subdivides said chamber longitudinally into two compartments of which one communicates with said inlet and the other communicates with said outlet, said bore in said piston communicating with both of said compartments; and wherein said spring is located in said other compartment and bears upon said piston.

5. Arrangement as defined in claim 4, wherein said housing includes a wall which bounds an end of said other compartment which is remote from said one compartment; and wherein said spring is a helical spring having opposite ends which bear against said wall and said piston, respectively.

6. Arrangement as defined in claim 1, said setting means comprising a plurality of insert members selectively and individually connectable to said housing, each of said insert members having at least one flowthrough aperture of predetermined cross-sectional area, and the cross-sectional areas being different in the respective different insert members. 

1. Arrangement for metered flow of washing liquids in the developing of photographic material, comprising a housing provided with a chamber having an inlet connectable with a supply and an outlet connectable with a user; setting means connected to said housing, and located between said chamber and said outlet for determining the rate of liquid flow from said chamber into said outlet; and means for indicating the rate of liquid flow through said outlet and including a piston slidable in said chamber and having an axial bore, and a spring acting upon said piston.
 2. Arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said housing comprises a wall which bounds said chamber and is at least in part transparent.
 3. Arrangement as defined in claim 2, and further comprising scale markings provided on said wall for indicating the flow rate of liquid through said chamber as a function of the position of said piston therein.
 4. Arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said piston subdivides said chamber longitudinally into two compartments of which one communicates with said inlet and the other communicates with said outlet, said bore in said piston communicating with both of said compartments; and wherein said spring is located in said other compartment and bears upon said piston.
 5. Arrangement as defined in claim 4, wherein said housing includes a wall which bounds an end of said other compartment which is remote from said one compartment; and wherein said spring is a helical spring having opposite ends which bear against said wall and said piston, respectively.
 6. Arrangement as defined in claim 1, said setting means comprising a plurality of insert members selectively and individually connectable to said housing, each of said insert members having at least one flow-through aperture of predetermined cross-sectional area, and the cross-sectional areas being different in the respective different insert members. 